Was the first goal something you aimed for?
In terms of getting free in that position and having myself, one of the side halves, or Kaji(kawa) aim for the loose ball, it went as planned.

The front line seems to be growing more fluid.
Myself, Kaji and Kouta (Watanabe) have become very fluid in our positioning. When you add Uchi(da) to that mix, our midfield has achieved good balance. That balance has made our attack more effective and made it more difficult for us to get hit on the counter. Recently, we’d been conceding more goals, so if playing this way can cut down on that, that’s a good thing.

Your defensive effort didn’t drop throughout the match.
I wasn’t that tired, myself, but as a team, we hadn’t finished a game holding our opponents to a zero and that was in the back of our minds for all of us, today. It’s important to keep a clean sheet and it also helped that we had a lot of hard working members in the squad for this match. We have to learn not to lose our concentration and if we want to make the playoff or achieve automatic promotion, goal difference will have a big impact, so it’s important to keep holding teams goalless.

Do you feel the team handled the game with the right approach after going up 3-0?
Rather than trying to force things and have gaps develop for them to exploit, we imagined it would be better to play on the counter. When we were defending, we concentrated our power on the break. With that said, we let them move the ball a little too much and we have to revise things so that we raise our line when they pass the ball at the back. If we spend too much time in defense, there’s bound to be mistakes that appear in our defensive shape, so we have to increase the speed at which we slide from side to side or press forward to win the ball. We were up 3-0 and while it’s not as if we grew complacent, I think we were more conscious of not conceding than we were of scoring more.

The last few matches, you seem to be more direct in your play after receiving the ball between the lines.
Kaji(kawa) and Uchi(da) have been able to receive the ball unmarked more and that has made a big difference. We hadn’t had many opportunities like that this season, but right now, we’re creating those situations more and more. I think it’s great if we can carry the ball forward with time to spare. That gives some stability to the team and relaxes the way we play. It’s something we should continue, but it’s also something that opposing scouts will start to pick up on, so I’m excited to see how it will develop in the future.

You’ve now made your first start of the season.
I haven’t had the opportunity before now, but I’ve been training with the intention of eventually starting, so I was actually able to play with more poise than I expected.

What sort of instructions did you receive from the manager?
I’m known as a dribbler, so I was told to use my skills to the max.

You were very aggressive at the start of the match, but it seemed like your finishing was not quite up to speed. Was it the desire to challenge yourself in that area that led to your first goal as a pro?
It was because I kept challenging myself that I had that many opportunities and I think taking those first two missed shots on goal was what enabled me to score with the third. I think it’s important to continue challenging myself.

It seemed like you were sizing up for a shot just before you made your run.
If the angle is right, then choosing to shoot over dribbling will lead to more goal opportunities. I also felt that I would have a better chance with a grounder than trying to go for power.

Getting results in your first start is sure to leave a good impression on the manager.
From the goal alone, you can see that I made a difference and I think the manager noticed as well. However, in the second half, I barely saw any of the ball and I made some mistakes in communication while defending, so I want to get better in those areas.

Compared to the Emperor’s Cup match against Toyama, you seemed much more aggressive in running at the defense from the opening whistle. Do you feel you learned from the experience in the cup match?
In the Emperor’s cup match, I came on as a substitute, so it’s completely different in terms of my first approach. With that said, I do feel more comfortable playing from the beginning than coming on in the middle.

What happened with your goal performance?
I had one prepared, but my mind went blank (laugh). However, Yohei (Sato) had his finger in the air, so I looked up at our teammates outside the bench, in the stands, and waived to them. I think my parents were in stands as well, but I couldn’t find them… (laugh).

Recently, Yong-jik Ri said that he was playing on behalf of all the players who’ve had little match time this year. Did you feel the same way?
Yes. I had heard Yong-jik’s comments and it made me feel that I had to work harder, as well. By making an impact today, I think I showed the other players outside the bench that they will have a chance to do the same and that is a very good thing for the team.

Your thoughts on the match?
We got three goals for the first time in a while, so I’m happy about that. We spoke about trying to play from the front from the opening whistle and I think it’s great that led to points.

This was your first start in a month and a half.
I’ve made a commitment that when I get a chance to play, I should contribute to the team, so I’m glad I got a goal. I think it was also important that we got the second goal rather quickly. I was in front of goal and I remember hoping that a loose ball would come my way, so I positioned myself to take advantage if it did. I was lucky that the ball came right to me.

You had some variation in your approach to corner kicks today.
With a short corner, we can put a cross in if they come out and if they don’t follow us, we can create numerical advantages. We adjust as a team, depending on the response.

This was the team’s first clean sheet in four league matches.
We got pushed back a lot, especially in the second half, but it’s good that we were able to maintain high awareness of our defensive duties as a team.

You initiated the attack that led to the first goal.
I told Kouta (Watanabe) last week that I wanted him to kind of creep into the penalty area. Yesterday, in Brazil’s match at the world cup, we saw Coutinho do that and I think that kind of late run will frighten the defense. Sure enough, it worked after just three minutes of the match. Nara(wa)’s ball was excellent, and I was able to win the physical battle and play the ball back to the center, so I think it was a good play.

After they changed to four at the back, they had center halves who aren’t particularly strong, physically. Were you conscious of exploiting that?
No, it wasn’t really on my mind. At Verdy, we have our own style of play and if we remain loyal to that, there will be spaces that open up. I think that showed from the very beginning of the first half, today.

After a perfect first half, going up 3-0, it felt like you retreated too much in the second.
That was partly the fact that it was 3-0 and we let them pass the ball in front of us. They didn’t threaten us that much and it never felt like we were in danger. With a 3-0 score, we somewhat expected the play to develop that way. However, when we did have possession, the players other than myself were too deep and we started playing more long balls. When our opponents are pressing from the front like that, it’s unavoidable that we will have to play some long balls but we should also try to retain possession and push them back when we can.

You have achieved a good balance between attacking from the center and out wide.
Until recently, we had relied solely on our passing from side to side, but lately, we’ve also been playing direct balls in behind. That’s made our attack more effective. For me, individually, if I can retain those balls when they’re played in, it will pull the two center backs out and open up space for the midfield. The more any of us achieve good positions, the more that will allow others to take better positions themselves. We’ve been focusing on that in training and I think the results have shown in our match play.

When focusing on positional play, it’s also important to be direct. It feels like you have accomplished that, lately.
Since we’ve been scoring goals, the team has grown in confidence and I think for us, right now, it’s simply important that we are getting results by doing what needs to be done as a team.

Is the fact that new players have been able to enter the team effectively evidence of the spread of the team’s play model?
If you watch this year’s World Cup, you’ll see that every nation is fighting as a team and when they fail to do that, the team breaks down. Even when we’re not getting results, it’s important to stick to the plan and the good run of form we’re in now is a result of having done so. I want us to continue that.

Seeing all these new players achieve a direct impact as you enter the mid-season break must have a great effect on your overall teamwork.
Yes, I think that’s absolutely true. We didn’t have Kanya (Fujimoto) today, but the fact that Shun(suke Mori) came on and made an impact makes our team that much deeper. As the temperature rises, having that depth will be important during the summer half of the season. But I think even more important than that is to continue to play as we are now.